Inputs to an effective digital marketing plan

The most common reason why digital marketing campaigns fail is that marketers do not make an effort to put together all the contributions that would contribute to a successful strategy.

Cookie-cutter marketing strategies are no longer useful or effective because your target audience expects a personalized experience that caters to their needs.

TargetAudience

It seems like the easiest thing to do, but often defining the target audience can be the toughest challenge for businesses. Whether it is age, gender or demographics, it is essential to define who is most likely to want to do business with you. Without identifying the target audience accurately, you can end up spending marketing budgets on reaching the wrong audience.

CustomerPersonas

Once the target audience is defined, you need to segment it into specific user personas. This can include creating visuals and giving names to an imaginary customer who displays the attributes of typical customers you are targeting. The better that personas are defined, the better are the chances of reaching the right audience.

Differentiators

Once you have defined the target audience and the customer personas, you need to arrive at the core differentiators that would make your business, products, and services appeal to them. By defining your value proposition, you can arrive at the attributes that would most appeal to the people you want to target through your marketing efforts.

Messaging &Positioning

Your messaging and positioning emerges out of the insights gained from defining the target audience, personas and differentiators. It is the articulation of these elements in the form of content and visuals. The right messaging and positioning helps your brand connect with the customers and create a positive image. It enables you to maximize the impact of your digital marketing efforts.

ContentAssets

Effective marketing campaigns need the right type and mix of content assets. Different marketing channels require a different kind of content. For example, even within social media, the kind of content that would work on Twitter could be completely different from what would engage a Facebook user. Content marketing is all about finding the right medium to take your content to your prospective clients and customers.

Analysis

The final, and arguably the most important element needed for a successful marketing plan is the analysis. This includes the various tools that would make data slicing and segmenting possible, and the skills to analyze and interpret the data effectively. Tweaking your campaigns to maximize engagement, click-through rate, and conversions are only possible if you have reliable and actionable data. You can only make informed course corrections if the data is accurate and correctly interpreted.

At Flying Cow Design, we take a process-oriented approach in gathering all the inputs needed to create a marketing plan tailor-made for your business.

Our Digital Marketing Process

Our process has been evolved over decades of working on multiple successful marketing campaigns. First, the digital marketing team invests in gathering the above ingredients. We then work with you to develop a marketing strategy with deliverable, timelines, projections, and goals.

Research and Analysis

During the marketing research, we analyze your business and your current website. The analysis will also include the industry your business is in, the target audience, your competition and what is needed to make your brand presence strong.

Engagement Plan

A solid foundation needs to be laid to ensure the digital marketing plan is successful. Here the team will determine which online channels your target audience uses to reach the industry. We work with you to define key performance indicators (KPIs). These metrics determine your business statistics and where to improve your marketing campaigns.

Creative ConceptDevelopment

It takes some creativity to engage with the intended audience. Visuals are imprinted in customers minds, and they will remember that more than the content, generally. For this reason, your visuals need to stand out from the rest of your competitors. The marketing team will define and develop these as needed for different digital channels, from social media content to printed materials.

Activation Plan

After preparing your marketing strategy, you will receive a detailed activation plan. It will state how your marketing campaign will be delivered, which digital marketing channels will be used, a project plan, a media plan, allocation of budgets between the different channels, expected results, and detailed timelines.

Digital Marketing Channels

Which channels need to be used for your campaigns will depend on the strategy developed after gathering all the inputs needed. Your marketing campaign could leverage one or all of the online marketing channels.

The way your content is developed and written will determine if your website visitors will remain on your page or not. Your content needs to be focused and stay on point. Effective content marketing takes carefully developed content to the right target audience through organic and paid content marketing channels like search engines, paid advertising platforms, search engine marketing, re targeting on social media platforms, and more. The idea is to create as many opportunities you’re your audience to engage with your content. This gives your brand the best chance to create a lasting impact on the visitors.

Social networking is the modern-day word of mouth. Whether it is a good or bad experience, it is shared. The services you offer will determine which social media networks are used. An effective social media marketing strategy will build awareness and engagement with customers on social media channels through organic and paid social campaigns.

Email marketing is one of the oldest and most cost-effective ways of reaching your customers in an ROI-positive way. Using customer data, your emails should be personalized to make your customers feel special, and they are more likely to read it. Make sure you are using a real email address with your personalized email signature. Segment your customers into the different types of personalized emails. The majority of internet users use a mobile version at some point to read emails; therefore, send mobile-friendly emails. Integrating your email marketing efforts with your CRM systems through marketing automation can significantly improve both the effectiveness and the efficiency of your drip and email campaigns.

When you advertise online, you are reaching numerous potential customers. Your advertising, your brand and services and need to stand out from your competitors. Integrating digital advertising through carefully targeted banner ads on carefully chosen websites and display networks ensures that you are maximizing your reach.

Top Three Timeless Digital Marketing Best Practices

Establish EmotionalConnections

Interesting and engaging website content that is well-written and presented is one of the most essential elements of any online marketing effort. Remember to talk to people, not at them. Written content should be aimed at making a connection emotionally, with your online visitors. For example, in the case of an insurance company, be a company that can resolve their anxiety about not having enough life insurance, or what type of life insurance they should carry. Be engaged in the problems of their life. Your website should invite questions and comments. Offer helpful, informative answers when asked. Do not be the insurance company that hounds online visitors with endless phone calls and emails just because they requested a quote. Act more like an ad visor who helps calm their fears.

Create an Inviting Atmosphere

Effective online marketing strategies include developing a website that will make visitors feel welcome. You must grab a reader’s attention; create a welcoming website through well-written content and visualization. Websites are a visual medium and should be maximized to their full potential. Nothing will turn away a visitor to a website faster than page after page of uninterrupted words. Use tasteful colors and graphics to help get your message across. Think of your home page as the front door or front yard of your home. If you are expecting guests, you turn on the lights by the front door. When guests are in your home, do you offer them something like food or beverages? Of course, you do. Your website can offer helpful tips or advice. When you have guests in your home, do you talk endlessly about yourself, or do you engage them in an actual conversation? You get the picture. Treat visitors to your website the same way you would treat guests to your home. Be a good host.

Have a Call to Action

An online visitor must see you as the place to go to when they need assistance with a certain problem. Remember, it is about them, and what they need. Create a comfortable atmosphere, invite them in and offer them the assistance they are looking for. It is after all a two-way street, and the exchange should be of reasonable value to both parties.

Why Flying Cow Design?

We have evolved as an end-to-end digital marketing agency that has built brands through our range of professional services including web design, brand design, online marketing, and content. Our digital marketing strategy services have helped a number of clients achieve their business goals, and are proven to bring visitors to your website, and ultimately nudge them towards an action. It does not mean you need to sell them on their first visit. It means they think enough of you and your organization to ask a question about your company or services or request a quote. There are many possibilities to convert a visitor. If conversion does not happen on the first visit, it does not mean that you lost them forever. If your website is set up properly, they will come back, and that conversion will take place eventually.

What Our Customers Say

Flying Cow Design first designed our website back in 2006 and since then we have used them for incremental updates and various design changes. During this 4 year period I have found FCD to be responsive, professional and attentive to our needs.

Flying Cow helped take our site from concept to reality, offering suggestions at each step of the way, many of which proved to be enhancements to the basic layout and functionality we originally drafted.

"WOW how do I pick this apart... I just love it. You have left me speechless. I am so happy."

Citizens Climate Lobby was completely impressed and satisfied by Flying Cow Design's ability to dive in and solve urgent problems. They were easy to work with, incredibly responsive, competent and professional.

Flying Cow has provided Cyber VAULT Services with excellent support in the design and the implementation of our website. Additionally, the ongoing support from Flying Cow has proven to be very reliable and timely. They have been a real asset to my company.

When it comes to online business, price is not the only consideration. You need someone that you can trust, that will give you sound, honest advice, that will look after your site, its program, its data, as if it was his own. To us, Flying Cow Design is more a partner than a service provider.